The palazzos were built for nobility, but it is artists, fashion designers and hoteliers that uphold their grandeur today, says Kate Simon.

Venice hosts its famous art biennale in June. Graham Reid offers survival tips.

Julia Shallcrass discovers Topdeck bus tours provide the swiftest way to see Europe and make new friends.

Silvio Berlusconi's private disco featured not only aspiring showgirls performing striptease acts as sexy nuns and nurses, but one woman dressed up as President Barack Obama.

Increasing numbers of campsite holidaymakers fly to Italy, but taking the decision to drive across mainland Europe is worth the effort.

After being buried under ash from Mt Vesuvius almost 2000 years ago, the Roman city of Pompeii rose again, becoming one of the world's most famous historic sites.

Justine Tyerman finds Cinque Terre, a UNESCO World Heritage site on Italy’s Ligurian Coast, just as she had envisaged.

Fendi is to fur what Ferrari is to cars. Yet given current concerns about animal rights, the brand has moved from the lavish fur coats that were all the rage in the 1980s to a more discreet way of interpreting fur as fashion. Fendi creative director Silvia Venturini, daughter of one of the company's five founding sisters, opted for wisps of fur used as hair decorations, bracelets, or charms hanging from Fendi bags. Fur also appeared as inserts in a skirt or a dress, or sheered and fashioned into a cozy, but not showy, jacket. Long fur, usually goat, also seen on other runways during Milan's preview showings, was used to make up a skirt or a cape.

Head to the Italian resort of Courmayeur to enjoy the Vallée Blanche without the crowds of Chamonix.

Influence pedallers: The best cities for bicycle rides.

Justine Tyerman discovers Castelluccio, in Umbria, Italy.

Justine Tyerman keeps a promise made nearly three decades ago to make a pilgrimage to Rome, The Eternal City.

Here are some of the world's key doomsday destinations and other places marked by fear and fascination.

Italy's most prominent anti-Mafia campaigner has appeared in court to sue the Mobsters who ordered his death.

Julia Shallcrass explores the ancient remnants of Rome, from its dark history to the Vatican City.

Tempo and quick recycling have been identified by the All Blacks as the key methods to avoid being dragged into a dog fight against Italy.

Perfect porcini, peccorino, pasta... Jim Eagles relishes a meal in.

Venetia Sherson explores Italy's wild heart, where strange rituals flourish and cheese-producing sheep can be sponsored.

Jim Eagles missed out on what he wanted to hear in Montalcino, but what he saw made the trip worthwhile.

Soak up a slower pace of living in Italy's untouched southern region.

Though the places we sleep in are often quickly forgotten, food will be at the heart of the stories that, years later, we tell about our travels.

Newlyweds Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are snapped sporting their wedding rings after their hush-hush wedding.